I believe, this is much harder to do than it seems it ought to be. I just need to look in my closet. Black, black, and more black. A touch of red. An occasional burst of color.

I live in the land of skinny jeans, North Face jackets and UGGS. Straightened hair. Salads. Manicures.

I don't own skinny jeans and now that I have discovered yoga pants, well, you can only imagine how little I need skinny jeans.

My kids have North Face jackets. I took the Old Navy fleece Peter was given for Christmas two years ago and made it mine.

Nope...I don't have UGGS. I rock my Merrill clogs like nobody's business. And I did buy a kicking pair of suede over the knee boots I wore to LIVE last week. The thought of putting them on again pains me...

Up until I got pregnant, I had pin straight hair. Then, I apparently had a permanent hormonal imbalance that resulted in some wonky pregnancy "wave" that needs to be hit with the brush when I blow dry my hair. I am OK with the use of the straightener, but since it belongs to Bella, "WHY ARE YOU USING MY STRAIGHTENER?!!!" (um, because I bought it?), I tend to not even bother. Plus, my hair is frequently in a pony tail.

OK, I do eat a lot of salads. I am a cuticle biter (I know, I know...) so I do indulge in a manicure once in a while and I adore a pedicure.

So how do I remain unique? How do I not conform? How do I swim out of my own pond?

I would say opening TGHR was a pretty unique venture. It is not your typical new business.

I try not to worry or wonder or frankly, even care what anyone thinks about me. The human being in me has a hard time with that.

I conform when it suits me.

I like black. I like to paint my toenails black and right now, even my fingernails are a very dark gray. My new RAV4 is black.

I toy every now and then with changing THIS very website to a black background rather than white. (Perhaps I'll do it for a week and then survey which you like better?)

I read books based on what the masses suggest. Sometimes, I get the book first and suggest it to the masses.

I love music of almost every genre. But if my teen suggests something not on my typical playlist, I will give it a listen.

I do not partake in scary: movies, TV, books. Romance, comedy, the occasional drama. Oh, musicals. I adore musicals.

So? What makes YOU stand out? Do you get out of your pond? Please share!

Swim out of your little pond.~ Rumi

I listened to a bunch of versions of this song, and this one made me clap.